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Men’s Soccer Parties Like It’s 1999 in Win Over Penn

The No. 7 Penn State men’s soccer team scored its most goals in a game since 1999 and notched its 800th win in program history in a 6-2 beatdown of Penn last night at Jeffrey Field.

Mikey Minutillo opened the scoring for Penn State in the 10th minute off a nice through ball from Kyle MacDonald, but Duke Lacroix brought the Quakers level just five minutes later on a shot after a cutback. The goal was the first one scored by an opponent at Jeffrey Field since October 2013.

But that was the last time the Quakers would be close. Brandon Savino gave the Nittany Lions the lead back just a minute later off a feed from Connor Maloney, and then Maloney added one of his own off the post and in from the edge of the box. With just over 12 minutes left in the first half, he gave Penn State a 3-1 lead that it would take into halftime.

Just five minutes into the second half, Maloney scored his second goal of the game and sixth of the season, courtesy of a through ball from Brian James, to extend the lead to 4-1. Penn got a goal back from Alec Neumann on a feed from Duke Lacroix just a minute later, giving the Quakers some hope — but it was quickly extinguished as the Nittany Lions answered again.

Just two minutes later, Drew Klingenberg’s header, assisted by James, gave the team a three-goal cushion at 5-2 in the 53rd minute. Goalie Andrew Wolverton made several eye-catching saves throughout the next half hour to keep the score at 5-2, and Riley Grant’s first career goal in the 89th minute capped the scoring for the evening.

This win puts the Nittany Lions at 7-0-1 on the year. The last time the Lions displayed a scoring outburst like this came in a 6-3 win over Villanova on Sept. 10, 1999.

“We have a tough, determined group,”said head coach Bob Warming. “I think everybody knew at some point that the dam was going to break and we would give up a goal. I think instead of hanging their head, they had the completely opposite reaction. They said, ‘The defense has held us for a long time now — it’s our turn to turn it on.’ And they did just that.”

Penn State’s next game is at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, against the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

A Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board hearing began on Tuesday in Pittsburgh for former Penn State general counsel Cynthia Baldwin, who is accused of violating rules of professional conduct in her representation of former university administrators during the Jerry Sandusky investigation.